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Sunday World
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Sunday World
Businesses left frustrated as immigration protestors kept apart by gardai in Donegal
A human chain of gardai which included officers in riot gear and members of the public order unit, separated vocal protesters who gathered at the town's Market Square Members of the Public Order Unit deployed at the protests in Letterkenny. (North West Newspix) A large Garda presence kept pro and anti-immigration protesters apart during separate gatherings in Letterkenny today. A crowd of more than 1,500 gathered on both sides to make their voices heard. A human chain of Gardai which included officers in riot gear and members of the public order unit, separated vocal protesters who gathered at the town's Market Square. The Air Support Unit surveyed protesters from a helicopter as garda medics also waited on standby. The larger anti-immigration crowd of up to 1,200 protesters waved Tricolour flags and held anti-Government banners as they marched from the town's Port Roundabout. The crowd was diverted up the town's Church Lane so as to avoid a direct confrontation with their opposing protestors. Gardai earlier erected crowd control barriers to keep both gatherings away from each other. Protestors gathered throughout the day There were verbal exchanges from both sides but it is not understood there were any major incidents and no arrests were reported. Co Donegal's biggest town was unusually quiet from early morning as Gardai implemented a crowd control strategy which saw roads blocked off and traffic diverted. Among those who spoke on behalf of the Donegal United Against Racism rally which had a crowd of up to 300 supporters were former Donegal TD, Thomas Pringle, Senator Eileen Flynn and Donegal County Councillor Declan Meehan. Among those who spoke on behalf of those protesting about the arrival of immigrants into Donegal were former election candidate Kim McMenamin and Ciaran Tourish. The town's Main Street remained closed to traffic for several hours on what should have been one of the busiest shopping days of the year, coinciding with the May Bank Holiday weekend. President of the Letterkenny Chamber of Commerce, Mr Jimmy Stafford, said businesses felt frustrated by the lack of consultation. He said "Had our members known that the road was going to close from 10am, they may have made a decision to close or made alternative arrangements with staff. There was no consultation with the Chamber by the authorities. 'We accept that there is a right to protest. Everybody has a right to protest from either side. The issue for us is just the lack of consultation around what was going to happen today from a road closure perspective and no parking for cars. 'We welcome the Garda presence. The main thing is that the protests go off peacefully. Members of the Public Order Unit deployed at the protests in Letterkenny. (North West Newspix) 'Some of our members have spoken to me today. This should be one of their busiest days of the year. The May Bank Holiday is the kicking off of the summer period, there are a lot of tourists in down and the good weather. Their trade is decimated. 'Our members respect the right to protest from all sides. The lack of consultation is the thing for us. 'Had we been consulted around road closures, timing, parking and barriers, we could have put our members on notice. 'We have had a very good working relationship for years and we work very closely together - and we always have. There are learnings from this going forward around consultation and keeping us in the loop. Another prominent Letterkenny businessman claimed the protest had cost traders "millions in lost revenue" and suggested the protests could have been held on the edge of the town.
The Independent
10-02-2025
- The Independent
Quick policing response to ‘random' knife attack in Dublin praised
Ireland's premier and justice minister have praised the 'extremely fast' policing response to a knife attack in a Dublin neighbourhood in which three men were injured. A man was arrested at the scene – who is believed to be homeless, of Latin American ethnicity and who had not previously come to the attention of gardai. Senior government figures and locals have said there was a quick policing response to the 'random' knife attack that took place in Stoneybatter on Sunday afternoon. A large Garda presence was at the location shortly after the serious incident, including members of the Public Order Unit. 'Our thoughts are with the victims and their families, and we wish them a full recovery,' Taoiseach Micheal Martin said on Monday. 'I do want to thank the Gardai for being on the scene very, very quickly, very promptly, and that's deeply appreciated by many.' Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan said had the gardai not arrived at the scene 'extremely fast', the situation 'could have been a lot worse'. 'We could have been sitting here talking about more serious injuries against a greater number of people or we could have, I regret to say, been talking about fatalities had the gardai not arrived promptly.' He said it was a 'horrific' incident for the men who were injured and 'shocking' for the community, and that one of the injured men is a brother of one of his friends. 'His brother was coming out of the house and the man came up behind him and slashed him in the back of the neck,' he told RTE Radio. 'I want to commend the gardai and particularly the guard who arrived there first who apprehended and disarmed the individual concerned, but also the gardai got there very quickly and had they not, I fear we could have been talking about something much worse this morning, rather than the three serious injuries that took place.' He added: 'What the gardai were indicating to me was that these were random attacks, I don't think they had been aware of the individual before, there had been no history I think of violent attacks before by the individual. Although it's not unprecedented, attacks like this are highly unusual, and again, I just want to say in terms of a policing plan, the policing plan that was in place worked well Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan 'What appeared to happen was the individual went along the streets, the three locations were Oxmantown Road, Carnew Street and Niall Street, and the three men who were attacked were just unfortunately in a position where the person was passing by at the time.' Mr O'Callaghan said the arrested man is understood to be homeless but had not sought or been granted asylum in Ireland. 'The individual appears to have been homeless, South American, hadn't really been brought to the attention of the gardai before.' He added: 'Although it's not unprecedented, attacks like this are highly unusual, and again, I just want to say in terms of a policing plan, the policing plan that was in place worked well. 'The gardai got there rapidly, they apprehended the individual, there is a suspect in custody and I hope to see an individual brought before the courts and justice being done. 'It is extremely difficult for the gardai or for society to ensure or to prevent attacks like this happening if an individual who isn't being monitored comes out and just arbitrarily decides he's going to attack the three closest people he meets as he's walking down the street.'
The Independent
10-02-2025
- The Independent
Justice minister says ‘random' Dublin knife attack could have been ‘a lot worse'
Ireland's Justice Minister has said a random knife attack in a Dublin neighbourhood on Sunday could have involved a fatality had the gardai not responded quickly. Three men were injured in what the minister called a 'random' knife attack in Stoneybatter on Sunday afternoon. A man aged in his 20s was arrested at the scene and the 'serious incident' triggered a large policing response, including from the Public Order Unit. Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan said had the gardai not arrived at the scene 'extremely fast', the situation 'could have been a lot worse'. 'We could have been sitting here talking about more serious injuries against a greater number of people or we could have, I regret to say, been talking about fatalities had the gardai not arrived promptly.' He said it was a 'horrific' incident for the men who were injured and 'shocking' for the community, and that one of the injured men is a brother of one of his friends. 'His brother was coming out of the house and the man came up behind him and slashed him in the back of the neck,' he told RTE Radio. 'I want to commend the gardai and particularly the guard who arrived there first who apprehended and disarmed the individual concerned, but also the gardai got there very quickly and had they not, I fear we could have been talking about something much worse this morning, rather than the three serious injuries that took place.' He added: 'What the gardai were indicating to me was that these were random attacks, I don't think they had been aware of the individual before, there had been no history I think of violent attacks before by the individual. Although it's not unprecedented, attacks like this are highly unusual, and again, I just want to say in terms of a policing plan, the policing plan that was in place worked well Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan 'What appeared to happen was the individual went along the streets, the three locations were Oxmantown Road, Carnew Street and Niall Street, and the three men who were attacked were just unfortunately in a position where the person was passing by at the time.' Mr O'Callaghan said the arrested man is understood to be homeless but had not sought or been granted asylum in Ireland. 'The individual appears to have been homeless, South American, hadn't really been brought to the attention of the gardai before.' He added: 'Although it's not unprecedented, attacks like this are highly unusual, and again, I just want to say in terms of a policing plan, the policing plan that was in place worked well. 'The gardai got there rapidly, they apprehended the individual, there is a suspect in custody and I hope to see an individual brought before the courts and justice being done. 'It is extremely difficult for the gardai or for society to ensure or to prevent attacks like this happening if an individual who isn't being monitored comes out and just arbitrarily decides he's going to attack the three closest people he meets as he's walking down the street.'
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Yahoo
Justice minister says ‘random' Dublin knife attack could have been ‘a lot worse'
Ireland's Justice Minister has said a random knife attack in a Dublin neighbourhood on Sunday could have involved a fatality had the gardai not responded quickly. Three men were injured in what the minister called a 'random' knife attack in Stoneybatter on Sunday afternoon. A man aged in his 20s was arrested at the scene and the 'serious incident' triggered a large policing response, including from the Public Order Unit. Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan said had the gardai not arrived at the scene 'extremely fast', the situation 'could have been a lot worse'. 'We could have been sitting here talking about more serious injuries against a greater number of people or we could have, I regret to say, been talking about fatalities had the gardai not arrived promptly.' He said it was a 'horrific' incident for the men who were injured and 'shocking' for the community, and that one of the injured men is a brother of one of his friends. 'His brother was coming out of the house and the man came up behind him and slashed him in the back of the neck,' he told RTE Radio. 'I want to commend the gardai and particularly the guard who arrived there first who apprehended and disarmed the individual concerned, but also the gardai got there very quickly and had they not, I fear we could have been talking about something much worse this morning, rather than the three serious injuries that took place.' He added: 'What the gardai were indicating to me was that these were random attacks, I don't think they had been aware of the individual before, there had been no history I think of violent attacks before by the individual. 'What appeared to happen was the individual went along the streets, the three locations were Oxmantown Road, Carnew Street and Niall Street, and the three men who were attacked were just unfortunately in a position where the person was passing by at the time.' Mr O'Callaghan said the arrested man is understood to be homeless but had not sought or been granted asylum in Ireland. 'The individual appears to have been homeless, South American, hadn't really been brought to the attention of the gardai before.' He added: 'Although it's not unprecedented, attacks like this are highly unusual, and again, I just want to say in terms of a policing plan, the policing plan that was in place worked well. 'The gardai got there rapidly, they apprehended the individual, there is a suspect in custody and I hope to see an individual brought before the courts and justice being done. 'It is extremely difficult for the gardai or for society to ensure or to prevent attacks like this happening if an individual who isn't being monitored comes out and just arbitrarily decides he's going to attack the three closest people he meets as he's walking down the street.'
